Fret-pattern-ground Samite with Confronted Peacocks in Floral Medallions Front

With a firm texture and a soft feel, this samite fragment features confronted peacocks in floral medallions on a ground covered with fret patterns. With colors of marron and rouge red applied for motifs on a deerskin brown foundation, this item shows a solemn and grand palette. The main body of each medallion is two peacocks standing in symmetry across a life tree. The rest blank is filled with well-arranged fret patterns. Such a motif combination, originated in West Asia and enjoying popularity in Central Asia, is an ornamental feature what textiles of China’s Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 AD) would have.